Product Details

• Actors: Aya Ueto, Kenji Kohashi, Hiroki Narimiya, Takatoshi Kaneko, Yûma Ishigaki
• Directors: Ryûhei Kitamura
• Writers: Mataichirô Yamamoto, Isao Kiriyama, Yu Koyama
• Producers: Mataichirô Yamamoto, Toshiaki Nakazawa
• Format: PAL
• Language: Japanese
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: AV Channel
• Run Time: 128 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0002HSDS2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,983 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Azumi [Region 2]" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Australia released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: Japanese ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Orphaned as a little girl, Azumi (Aya Ueto) is raised in the forest with a group of ten children by their master (Yoshio Harada), who trains them to be peerless assassins. Azumi and Nachi (Shun Oguri) are the strongest of the fighters. When the group comes of age, the master gives them one final test. He tells them to team up with the person to whom they feel closest. Then he tells them to kill that person, explaining that an assassin never gets to choose whom to kill. The teens reluctantly fight to the death. Then the survivors are brought out of the woods to begin their work, assassinating the corrupt warlords who are preventing peace in the land. The assassins, particularly Azumi, perform their missions with flair, but complications arise. One of the teens (Takatoshi Kaneko) is poisoned by a ninja's blade, one (Kenji Kohashi) falls in love with a circus performer (Aya Okamoto), and Azumi begins to question her desire to live the violent life of an assassin. Meanwhile, one warlord (Naoto Takenaka) cleverly escapes their blades, and together with his bodyguard Kenbei (Kazuki Kitamura) and a "monkey-faced" ninja, Saru (Minoru Matsumoto), they find Bijomaru (Jô Odagiri from Bright Future), a violent madman, release him from prison, and unleash him upon the young team of assassins. Azumi, based on the manga by Yu Koyama, is the first of cult director Ryuhei Kitamura's (Versus) films to be made within the Japanese studio system. It was shown at the 2004 New York Asian Film Festival, presented by Subway Cinema.
...Azumi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun And Enjoyable Ninja Film, August 28, 2006

By 

Ernest Jagger (Culver City, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Azumi [Region 2] (DVD)

"Azumi" is a highly recommended film. The fact that it is not available at the present time in (Region 1: USA) should not deter you from trying to obtain a copy of this rollicking and entertaining ninja film. "Azumi" is a wonderful, fun, and exciting ninja adventure film starring the beautiful (Aya Ueto) as the protagonist Azumi. The character Azumi is part of a young group of 10 war orphans, whose Sensei and father figure (Yoshio Harada) has trained them to become assassins, and correct what he believes are the ills of the country: Rampant corruption and war. Moreover, he lost his son in a war many years before, and therefore believes that to prevent further wars, then the ends justify the means. And he has gathered up these orphans for a special purpose.

Furthermore, Yoshio Harada will give these 10 ninjas their first task. An important one at that. One which will test their mettle and prove whether or not they have the will to carry out the dangerous assignments that lay ahead of them. However, this first mission of theirs is most unusual, and if they pass it, they will have passed their most difficult test. And Yoshio Harada knows that if they do this, then they will obey his orders without hesitation. For what awaits these young ninjas is a hard journey, and if they are to embark on their important mission of changing their present day society then they must be willing to sacrifice everything and anything dear to them. I will not give this part away, as it is a very important mission. Let's just say 5 of these young assassins will embark on their journey to rid the country of war.

However, the Sensei's teachings of "the ends justify the means" begin to bother Azumi. Therefore, a change in her core belief system begins to distance herself from Harada's teachings. But not her fighting abilities. She is as lethal and deadly as any master swordsman. There is a terrific character who plays a psychotic and totally demented killer who is set free to capture and kill these marauding ninjas: And he does a really terrific job as the 'sick swordsman'. Take this film with a grain of salt. It is a fun, exciting, and a very long and enjoyable watch. [over 2 1/2 hours long]. Yet, it is well worth the time spent. The cinematography and acting are great. You will be pleasantly delighted. Also, this is the first of two Azumi films. And while "AZUMI 2" is not as good as the first one, it is still a good film and worth the purchase. I highly recommend this film.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BLISStering action and violence., June 12, 2006

By 

Eugene Fenlon BA (A far away place.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Azumi [Region 2] (DVD)

Previously, I had heard nothing about Azumi. It was until I saw it that I had discovered a truely enjoyable and violent action film. Based in Japan, Azumi is about a group of assissins in a war between a Samurai sword wielding gang. With an acceptable story and loaded with lightning speed Samurai action, Azumi is a perfect Sunday-stay-in film. With very impressive stunts and deaths, Azumi will not dissapoint. However, it has *subtitles*.
Azumi also has one of the best and most psychotic villians I have seen.

Azumi is a brilliant action film and highly recommended.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A colorful, fun and cheesy Japanese sword-fight flick, August 27, 2006

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Azumi [Region 2] (DVD)

"Azumi" is a wild ride. A glorious over-the-top hack-and-slash action film, it is really a star vehicle for 17-year old Japanese pop idol Aya Ueto, whose main talent is posing in bikinis and appearing on variety shows. Director Ryuhei Kitamura ("Versus," "Godzilla:Final Wars") pulls out all the stops, utilizing all the anime/ video game sensibilities that have become his trademark. Based on a popular manga, it is typical of Japanese live-action manga movies. Nothing realistic in anyway, not in the acting, special effects or filming.

The story attempts to have some substance, and is full of pathos in the way that only a Japanese film can be. Azumi is an assassin, raised with a group whose job it is to eliminate dangerous warlords and bring peace to the tormented country. In the opening scene, the assassin's graduation test show their worth and their ability to kill anyone, anytime. From there, the three graduates head out into Japan to fulfill their charter. Encountering squads of Ninjas and villains with such delightful monikers as Saru ("Monkey") and Bijomaru ("Beautiful Rascal"), a cross-dressing, giggling madman who was released from prison to stop Azumi.

But ultimately, the plot is inconsequential, as the real fun is watching the lovely Aya pouting and sword-swinging, taking on hundreds of swordsmen at once and slaughtering them all in bloody vengeance. She spins in the air, does superhuman leaps and basically is a Wuxia character in a Japanese film. Her costume is really cute, and was a big selling part of the film in Japan. Seeing her in action was the main reason I went to the theater!

The only possible draw back is that it is a long film for a cheesy sword-fight flick, clocking in at around two and a half hours. Kitamura keeps things moving along, throwing spectacle after spectacle at you, but a quicker, sharper film would have been more effective.